Kimagro brand certified

Kimagro Fish Farming's Lavantina sea bass and sea bream are now certified as sustainable in line with Friend of the Sea standards.

An independent certification body carried out a thorough audit of the company’s offshore cages, located near the Port of Limassol, Cyprus.

The company says it doesn’t use any hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or land animal proteins and ensures animal welfare by feeding the fish “ad libitum”, allowing natural growth and metabolism rates.

Tony Kimonides, managing director, Kimagro, said: "We are particularly fond of the Friend of the Sea certification as it allows us to independently confirm our full engagement to sustainability at an international level.”

Kimagro's cages can hold 12-15kg of fish per square metre and are equipped with video cameras to monitor feeding habits and identify escapes.

They are also covered with special nets to prevent birds from getting entangles and are free from antifoulants – they are cleaned with a modern water blaster, rather than antifouling paints.

Back in 2004, environmental impact assessments were carried out before the sites were developed in 2007. The assessments revealed that no traces of the farm activity, which is located within an oligotrophic environment, are recorded 100m from the cages.